Episodes
The Hidden Decisions That Make - or Break - Customer Trust
Episode Summary: Every digital customer experience depends on technical systems customers may never see, but they immediately notice when those systems fail. Nicole McKinley talks with Keith Mayer, leader of Microsoft’s Chief Architect Office, abou...
Start With People, Not Technology: How Medicana Transformed Its Patient Experience
Nicole McKinley speaks with Nur Masoud, founder and CEO of Parlon, about transforming the patient feedback experience at Medicana, one of Turkey’s largest private healthcare providers.
They explore how a people-first platform brought scattered feedback into one intuitive system, used AI to prioritize roughly 2,000 daily responses, and made both urgent concerns and employee appreciation more visible.
You'll walk away with:
• Why successful CX transformation begins with unde…
AI, Trust, and the Human Touch: Redefining CX with Shep Hyken
Episode Summary: In this episode, Shep Hyken joins Nicole to break down why “average” customer experience is the biggest risk companies face today. From moments of magic to the power of consistency, Shep shares research-backed insights on how trust...
Reflections: Why the Future of CX is both Human + AI
In this reflective episode of Simply CX, Nicole and Tina unpack the biggest insights from the season—exploring how AI and human connection are not competing forces, but complementary ones redefining customer experience. Through real-world examples, they reveal how memorable moments, emotional intelligence, and emerging AI capabilities are reshaping what it means to serve customers in meaningful ways.
You'll walk away with:
Why the future of CX depends on combining human empat…
The Future of CX: Synthetic Data, Smart Agents, and Human Judgment
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Tom Wynter from Kantar to explore how AI is transforming the world of customer insights. From synthetic data to agent-driven decision-making, Tom shares how organizations can move faster ...
AI + Empathy: The New CX Skillset
As AI handles routine inquiries, human agents are left with the toughest, most emotionally charged customer interactions. In this episode, Myra Golden shares her psychology-based 3R framework—Regulate, Redirect, Resolve—to help teams de-escalate conversations, build trust, and close interactions with clarity. She also reveals how AI can elevate training, coaching, and scale in the modern CX organization.
You'll walk away with:
• The 3R Conversation Control Framework and how t…
Bringing Joy to Wine Lovers: Inside a Family Winery’s CX Transformation
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Corinne Martinez, owner and partner of Berryessa Gap Vineyards, to explore how a family-owned winery transformed both customer and employee experience through intentional CX leadership an...
What’s Real Still Matters: Digital Twins, AI, and the Future of Trust
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Jess Loren, Founder and CEO of Global Objects, to explore how photoreal digital twins are transforming industries from media and entertainment to energy, education, and cultural preservat...
Designing for Better Experiences: Simplifying Airline Customer Service at Scale
In this episode of Simply CX, host Nicole McKinley sits down with Neil Iversen, Vice President of Professional Services at TTEC Digital, to unpack a real-world airline contact center transformation that reduced average handle time by 30% while dram...
Driving Brand Growth: A Modern CX Playbook
In this episode, Nicole sits down with Mark Chamberlain, Global Managing Director of Customer Experience at Kantar, to challenge conventional thinking about CX metrics. Together, they explore why long‑term memory—not momentary satisfaction—is the real driver of customer choice, brand growth, and competitive advantage.
You'll walk away with:
• A new way to think about CX as the business of shaping long-term memory
• Why frictionless experiences matter—but rarely differ…
Agentic AI in Action: Rethinking Sales, Scale and Customer Experience
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Allison West Hughes, Corporate Vice President of Global Small and Medium Business at Microsoft, to unpack how Microsoft became its own “customer zero” by deploying an autonomous AI sales ...
Influencing the Agents: Redefining CX in an AI-Native World
In this episode, Nicole talks with Jim McDonnell, Microsoft’s Global Lead for Customer Advocacy, about how AI-native developers, students, and small businesses are reshaping customer expectations. Jim shares why AI agents are now part of the customer ecosystem, how to eliminate friction for developers, and what he’s learned about experience design from running multiple restaurants.
You'll walk away with:
Why AI agents are becoming key influencers in customer decision-mak…
The Big CX Takeaways: Season One Reflections
The first season of Simply CX was full of insights from creating emotional loyalty and building organizational culture to AI-driven innovation and omnichannel experiences. In this episode, Nicole shares the themes and stories that shaped the season...
Transforming Care Through AI: CX Innovation at City of Hope
Episode Summary: In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole talks with Nasim Eftekhari from City of Hope about how customer experience innovation is reshaping cancer care. Discover how AI-driven tools like their Hope LLM are reducing clinician burnout, i...
Scaling Change: How Hillsborough County Schools Reimagined Classroom Experience
In this episode of Simply CX, host Nicole McKinley sits down with Chris Holt, Supervisor of Technology Training at Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), to explore how one of the largest school districts in the U.S. transformed its classroom experience. From interactive flat panels to AI-powered learning accelerators, Chris shares how HCPS built a human-centric, scalable change management strategy that empowered teachers and elevated student engagement.
You'll walk away wit…
Human-Centered Design with Purpose: AI, EX, and CX
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole talks with Brian Hodel from T-Mobile about how his team tackled a manual employee experience and transformed it into a streamlined, AI-powered solution for customers. They dive into how AI, customer feedback, and frontline employee insights shaped a tool that personalizes promotions, simplifies decision-making, and enhances both customer and employee experiences. They didn’t start with AI, they started with empathy, and how things went tell you everything…
The CX Puzzle: Solving One Piece at a Time Part 2
In part two of our conversation with Chris Lipman, Chief Customer Experience Officer at e&, we dive deeper into how immersive leadership -- like spending a day in the call center -- can spark real change. Chris shares how AI is reshaping customer e...
The CX Puzzle: Solving One Piece at a Time
“CX is not an exact science—it’s a puzzle.” In the first part of this 2-part series, Chris Lipman, an award-winning CX expert and Chief Customer Experience Officer at e& UAE, shares how his obsession with solving puzzles fuels his approach to customer experience. e& identifies and prioritizes CX issues, rapidly prototypes solutions, and measures their impact on both customer satisfaction and business outcomes. This approach not only elevates customer experience but also ensures a cle…
Creating a Culture of Customer Centric Innovation at Cummins
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley talks with Erica Baird, Executive Director of Global Sales and Service at Cummins, about how customer experience is deeply embedded across every facet of the company—from engineering and field service to sales and product development.
You'll walk away with:
• How Cummins uses AI to predict and prevent mechanical issues before they happen
• Why customer empathy is more powerful than ever in delivering positive CX
• …
CX as a Team Sport: Turning Customer Insights into Impact
We’re breaking the mold in this episode, as Nicole sits down with two of her peers who are helping bring the CX vision for Microsoft to life. How do you embed customer experience into the DNA of a global organization? Learn from Mike Friday GM of Global Customer Experience Engagement and Diana Parker; GM of Enterprises Sales & Operations who share how Microsoft moved from reactive surveys to predictive, AI-powered insights—making CX a natural part of everyone’s day. Culture, accountabili…
Reinventing Car Buying: CarMax’s Omnichannel Appeal
Buying a car should feel like a joyride, not a chore—and CarMax is investing to make it easy, exciting, and even fun. In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole sits down with Shamim Mohammed, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Officer at CarMax, to explore how the company is redefining the car buying experience. From omnichannel innovation to AI-powered tools like Sky 2.0, Shamim shares how CarMax puts customers at the center of every decision, creating multi-channel, personalized, and empo…
Designing Trust: TD Bank’s Human-Centered Innovation
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole sits down with Imran Khan, Head of Innovation and Design at TD Bank, to explore what it means to stay human-centered in a world of rapid AI transformation and generational change.
Imran shares how TD Bank is designing intuitive, intelligent experiences that serve both customers and employees—from real-time AI support for call center agents to the groundbreaking Roblox game “Treat Island Tycoon,” which teaches kids money skills through play. They a…
Emotional Intelligence and The Future of Customer Connection
In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole sits down with behavioral scientist and CX visionary Ken Hughes to explore the emotional side of customer experience. Together, they dive into why emotional loyalty and customer intimacy are the true differentia...
Official Trailer
Listen in as industry experts, business leaders, and visionaries share their insights, CX in real life, and the latest technology innovations driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. From building customer trust and creating easy omnichannel engagement to data-driven decision-making and scalable growth, we cover everything you need to create connection with customers in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Whether you’re a seasoned executive, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply fascinated by th…